Bright House Networks, Charter Communications and Time Warner Cable are joining to form one of the country's largest telecommunications companies.

The formal announcement came Tuesday morning.

Charter will buy Time Warner Cable and complete its purchase of Bright House Networks, first announced March 31.

The Charter purchase of Time Warner Cable is valued at over $78 billion. Charter's deal for Bright House Networks is for $10 billion.

The new company will serve almost 24 million customers in 41 states.

Bright House Networks serves 2.5 million customers in Florida, Alabama, Indiana, Michigan and California.

Tom Rutledge, president and CEO of Charter Communications, will serve in the same role with the new Charter.

The companies said they expect the deals to close by the end of 2015.

"The teams at Charter, Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks are filled with the innovators of our industry. Representatives of each of these companies have invented some of the most revolutionary communications products ever created; innovations like video on demand, VOIP phone service, remote storage DVR, cable TV through an app, downloadable security and the first backward-compatible, cloud-based user interface. That spirit of innovation will live on, and it will create real benefits and great long-term value for the customers, shareholders and employees of all three companies," said Rutledge. "With our larger reach, we will be able to accelerate the deployment of faster Internet speeds, state-of-the-art video experiences, and fully featured voice products, at highly competitive prices. In addition, we will drive greater competition through further deployment of new competitive facilities-based WiFi networks in public places, and the expansion of the facilities footprint of optical networks to serve the large, small and medium sized business services marketplace. New Charter will capitalize on technology to create and maintain a more effective and efficient service model. Put simply, the scale of New Charter, along with the combined talents we can bring to bear, position us to deliver a communications future that will unleash the full power of the two-way, interactive cable network."

"With today's announcement, we have delivered on our commitment to maximizing shareholder value," said Robert D. Marcus, Chairman and CEO of Time Warner Cable. "This agreement recognizes the unique value of Time Warner Cable, and brings together three great companies that share a common philosophy of strong operations, great products, robust network investment and putting customers first. This combination will only accelerate the great operating momentum we've seen over the last year and provide enormous opportunities for our 55,000 dedicated employees. We remain wholly committed to bringing the very best experience to our residential and business customers coast to coast."

"Today's announcement is good news for customers and potential customers, as well as our employees, since we will be in a stronger position to deliver competitive services, invest in advanced technology, and develop innovative products that will compete with global and national brands," said Steve Miron, CEO of Bright House Networks. "In addition, I am very pleased that Tom Rutledge will be the CEO of the new company. Tom recognizes the importance of placing a high priority focus on customer care drawing from the expertise of all three companies, and I believe this will be a strong pillar of the new company's culture."

Bright House Networks is the parent company of Bay News 9 in Tampa Bay, News 13 in Central Florida, Bright House Sports Network and InfoMás.

Official press release